AP quoted authorities in Helsinki as saying that a "fault" had been discovered on the C-Lion1 data cable connecting Finland and Germany.
The nearly 1,200-kilometer-long cable runs under the Baltic Sea between Helsinki, Finland, and Rostock, Germany. Technicians at Cinia, a Finnish state-owned data service provider, discovered the problem during a routine inspection at around 4 a.m. local time on November 18.
“All the fiber optic connections there were cut,” a company spokesperson told Finnish media, adding that the cause of the incident was under investigation.
"Currently, it is not possible to assess the reason for the cable break, but such breaks do not occur in this sea area without external impact."
Finland's internet traffic is being routed along other data cables, according to Samuli Bergstrom, head of the Cyber Security Centre at the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom).
"Cable breaks happen from time to time and can have many different reasons. For example, they are susceptible to weather and damage during transport," Bergstrom told Yle television.
The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (SUPO) said it was too early to assess the cause, noting that there are about 200 submarine cable breaks worldwide each year.
“The most common cause is human activity, such as fishing or ship anchoring,” a SUPO spokesperson pointed out.
Finland and Estonia initially blamed Russia for an incident in October 2023 that damaged the Balticconnector gas pipeline between the two countries, until an investigation determined that the anchor of a Chinese cargo ship was the cause of the incident.
The C-Lion1 cable went into operation in 2016 to improve Finland’s data connection to central Europe. The cable itself runs near two Nord Stream gas pipelines that have carried Russian gas to Germany.
Three of the four branches of Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 were sabotaged in September 2022. Nord Stream 2 was completed but never activated, due to Germany's refusal to grant a license.
No one has been held responsible for the explosion that crippled the pipeline. Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has blamed the United States and Norway. Meanwhile, some Western newspapers have claimed that a group of Ukrainians carried out the Nord Stream sabotage bombing.
